Dec 31

My 10 Favorite Moments of 2012

Sure, you’ve read your share of 10-best lists of 2012. But most of them are laser-focused: books, movies, music, sports moments, restaurants, etc. Well, this one’s laser-focused, too. But since it’s my blog, that big laser is shining brightly on me — and anyone who knows me realizes that a list of my 10 favorite moments of the year about to pass is going to include a number of different things. So, here they are … my 10 favorite moments of 2012:

Does this look like November to you? It does at Duke's!

Does this look like November to you? It does at Duke’s!

10. Brunch at Duke’s Malibu, November 4: The opportunity to enjoy a Sunday morning on the patio at the Barefoot Bar at Duke’s in Malibu is something anyone — native or tourist — should enjoy as often as possible. This particular November Sunday featured unseasonably warm temperatures tickling the 80-degree mark and great company, as Caitlin’s family was visiting for the weekend. Sunshine, relaxed smiles, tiki drinks and a great buffet made for one of the best mornings of the year.

9. Jack White at the Shrine Auditorium, August 11: As I wrote in my quick-hitting review on the blog on Aug. 12, “There’s nothing better than going into a concert with high expectations and having them met, let alone exceeded. Such was the case with Jack White’s epic performance last night at the Shrine Auditorium near USC.” The moment of moments that night, though, was White’s stinging performance of his White Stripes classic, “Ball and Biscuit.” To grab my Spotify playlist of that night’s setlist, find it here: Jack White Shrine Setlist 8/11/12

One of the most beautiful spots in NYC.

One of the most beautiful spots in NYC.

8. A Sunday in New York City, September 9: In town for the previous night’s USC football game against Syracuse at MetLife Stadium across the river in New Jersey, we had a full day to kill before catching a late flight back to Los Angeles. It’s been a long time since I did a bunch of “touristy” things in NYC, but with glorious weather to wander the city, we set off on just such a journey, with no pressure and no schedule. The day ended up including: a visit to Gray’s Papaya on the Upper West Side for some dogs; a stop by Strawberry Fields in Central Park; a walk across the park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (where we relaxed on the steps and watched the city move by); and, finally, a taxi ride to the Empire State Building where we enjoyed both observation decks. Truly, a perfect day.

7. Dinner at Chicago Chop House, March 10: The company, the city and the celebration would have made this a pretty memorable night no matter what. But, the staff at the Chicago Chop House on this night made it incredible — from the chefs who absolutely nailed the entire meal, to the maitre d’ and servers who made sure the whole experience was smooth, fun and special, there was a high likelihood from the moment this amazing meal ended that it would be my favorite of 2012. Only something incredibly special would be able to push it aside.

6. Christmas Eve at Dad’s, December 24: The most recent entry on this list, last week’s holiday celebration at my dad’s home was among the most relaxed and pleasant we’ve had. After spending last Christmas on the East Coast, it was a pleasure to be back in California for the holiday in 2012. Though the afternoon and evening were still missing a few key pieces, the return of my Aunt Sue to Southern California in 2012 was a massive factor in how great and memorable the day was. It was simply fantastic to have her a part of the family celebration and to see her so happy and relaxed with all of us.

This view of the Eiffel Tower at night was simply stunning.

This view of the Eiffel Tower at night was simply stunning.

5. Viewing the Eiffel Tower Light Show from atop the Arc de Triomphe, October 5: The early fall trip to London and Paris was full of amazing and memorable moments — one of which ranks slightly higher on this very list. However, from the perspective of having a purely “Paris moment,” nothing was better than our climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe on a Friday night. The views were stunning 360 degrees around, but our timing was perfect — we arrived just 10 minutes prior to the 9 p.m. version of the hourly light show on the Eiffel Tower. What happened next can only be the magic of the City of Light.

Compton and Long Beach got back together at Coachella with incredible results, including this great t-shirt.

Compton and Long Beach got back together at Coachella with incredible results, including this great t-shirt.

4. Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg Live at Coachella, April 15: My first Coachella was a truly fantastic experience, one that I summed up with one of my longer blog posts of the year. But the highlight of highlights was the event’s closing performance by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. With “The Chronic” being a major part of the soundtrack of my college years, my hopes were incredibly hight, but as I wrote on April 25: “… to say they lived up to those hopes would fall short. An unbelievable 75 minutes that featured a bevy of SoCal hip-hop greatest hits; cameos by Wiz Khalifa, Warren G., Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and Eminem; and the much-discussed Tupac ‘hologram’ – what more could you ask for?” Dre & Snoop grabbed the crowd by the throat, opening with their classic “The Next Episode” and showed the 80,000 in attendance that night one helluva great time. To grab my Spotify playlist of that night’s setlist, find it here: Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg Coachella Set List 4/15/12

3. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Perform “Jungleland,” December 4: It took 27 years and nearly 20 Springsteen shows before it finally happened: I got to see the epic “Jungleland” performed live. That it happened as the third of a four-song arc that also included “Badlands,” “Thunder Road” and “Born to Run” — even better. That, two songs later, I also saw my first live performance ever of the band’s version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” — wow. And all of this was at the tail end of a show that had spent its first two hours and 45 minutes being one of the best Springsteen shows I’d seen in more than a decade. It was one great night.

This menu was simply beyond reproach!

This menu was simply beyond reproach!

2. Dinner at L’Ami Jean, Paris, October 4: I got the idea to possibly visit this bistro during our Paris journey from a short piece I read on BonAppetit.com. When we arrived in town, we had our hotel book a reservation for us. What happened when we showed up is one of the greatest dining experiences of my life. Chef Stephane Jego’s food — advertised at seven courses for $75 Euro, but in reality closer to 10 courses — was beyond creative. I’d have never imagined eating foie gras with smoked eel in a herring bouillabaisse — let alone thinking it was one of the most delectable things I’ve ever tasted. Each course built on the last and was simply spectacular, finishing with the best duck I’ve ever had. For dessert, the restaurant’s famous rice pudding was as good as advertised. Beyond the food, the atmosphere in the tiny (maybe 40 seats) location was so alive. There was great service and great conversation with the folks sitting so close to you that you felt you were at — almost — a communal dinner. The entertainment of Jego finishing each dish for delivery to each table just outside the kitchen was also worth more than the price we paid. If you’re ever in Paris, trust the menu and do not miss this place.

Just minutes after the best moment of 2012, this was captured by the best person of 2012.

Just minutes after the best moment of 2012, this was captured by the best person of 2012.

1. The Kings Win the Stanley Cup, June 11: Yes, certainly the moment of victory was the best. But it was the two months — not to mention the 33 years since my first Kings game in 1979 — leading up to the final seconds ticking away in the 6-1 Game 6 win over New Jersey that made this so sweet. Committing to getting to one game per round prior to the playoffs didn’t seem like such a big thing, considering the Kings were the No. 8 seed in the West. But as they upset Vancouver in round one, thumped St. Louis in round two and put away Phoenix to reach the Stanley Cup Final, those pilgrimages to Staples Center became more and more enjoyable (and expensive). I thought we’d peaked out by attending the Kings’ 4-0 win in Game 3 of the Final, one of the great sports experiences I’ve ever had. But, no … at midnight the night before Game 6, I was about to shut down my computer for the night and head to bed when I decided to jump on Ticketmaster.com to see if anything might have been released for the “sold out” game. When those Premier level seats popped up for face value, I was stunned. Seventeen hours later, we were in the building. And four hours after that, we saw THIS. Go Kings Go, indeed!

All the best for a great 2013!

Apr 29

It Was 20 Years Ago Today …

In the spring of 1992, I was finishing my first year at USC (having transferred from Cal State Fullerton the previous fall).

Specifically, however, on Wednesday, April 29, 1992, I worked at my job as a teller at the First Interstate Bank branch in Claremont, Calif. Why Claremont? Well, my college girlfriend attended one of the Claremont Colleges, and though I had an off-campus apartment at the corner of Severance and Adams near the USC campus, I tended to spend a lot of time with her.

When I left my shift that afternoon, I headed over to her dorm to study for my first final of the spring semester, which was scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday morning. The plan was to wait for traffic to die down and then head out to USC that evening to grab a decent night’s sleep before the test.

As most of you know, that plan was torn to shreds by 12 jurors in a Simi Valley courtroom and the enraged reaction of thousands of Los Angeles residents — that April 29 will forever be known as the first day of the 1992 L.A. Riots.

***

When I arrived at the dorm, many of the young women who lived there were watching a TV in a rec room, as the local news covered initial reactions to the late afternoon verdict. Many of us in the room were as stunned as those who were being interviewed on TV. As the coverage transitioned to various outbreaks of protest, many of us in the room voiced our agreement with those protests. Then, the helicopters started flying over Florence and Normandie, and everything changed. Reginald Denny … Damian “Football” Williams … burning, burning, burning. And you knew this could really get out of hand.

The front page of the April 30, 1992 edition of the L.A. Times.

As we moved into my girlfriend’s room to continue watching the news coverage across all channels, things got more and more violent, as the protests moved from voice to action. And, once the idea of public mayhem became conceivable, it sure didn’t hurt that many people who lived outside the confines of the law to begin with took advantage of the situation and exacerbated things even further. If you were alive and in Southern California during this time, you know how it made you feel, you know who you blame, you know what you think, so I won’t preach to you. But the truth of the L.A. Riots — why they happened, why they were so out of control, who was to blame, what’s changed since — is obviously more multifaceted than simple statements like “racist cops beat black man and walk” or “decades of police brutality come home to roost” or “local criminals take advantage of widespread lawlessness to wreak havoc on city.”

What I will tell you is that I was still trying to study for that final that night, all while watching the TV coverage and listening to the third game of the Lakers’ playoff series against the Portland Trailblazers on my Walkman, since there was no cable TV in the dorm rooms. The game was taking place inside the Great Western Forum in Inglewood (near the epicenter of the riots). Blissfully unaware of what was occurring outside (in an era before cell phones — let alone smartphones and social media), fans watched the underdog Lakers upset the Blazers in overtime (remember, this was the spring after Magic Johnson retired after testing HIV positive) to extend a first-round series. The only clue as to what was happening, I recall, was late in the fourth quarter, when legendary Laker announcer Chick Hearn told listeners/viewers that the Forum message board was flashing that no traffic after the game would be allowed to head east toward the 110 freeway. “All traffic must head west toward the 405. That’s a strange message, but I am only reporting what I see,” I remember Hearn saying. The dissonance between listening to that game and keeping an eye on the violence tearing apart the city on television was, suffice it to say, shocking.

During all of this violence, the news had reported that the USC campus was unscathed by rioters, that the area just around the campus was still reasonably quiet in the center of this storm. And, by 10:30 p.m., there was no announcement from the school on a postponement of finals that were scheduled for Thursday. Nor by 11:30 … or 12:30 a.m. Common sense told me that there was no way the school could function normally on Thursday, but I wasn’t going to risk a grade. So I tried going to sleep, but to no avail with what was happening on TV. By 4 a.m., I tried calling the general phone number for campus to see if any announcement had been made — school closure announcements had been part of the news coverage all night, but there was still no word from USC — but got no answer. I truly had no choice but to get in my car and drive straight toward the campus.

The corner of Florence and Normandie near sundown on April 29, 1992.

At about 5:20 a.m., I had just passed the 710 freeway, driving west on the 10, when a reporter on KFWB finally said those words I’d been waiting so long for: “USC has announced that final exams scheduled for today and Friday are postponed indefinitely.” While definitely irritated that the announcement had come only at that moment, what I actually really was at that moment was exhausted. So, I made a decision that could have been one of the worst I’d ever made, but instead turned out only to be one of the most interesting: I just wanted to go to sleep and I was about 10-12 minutes away from my apartment building’s underground parking garage and my bed. I chose to drive into the middle of the L.A. Riots.

***

I exited the freeway at Hoover. At the traffic signal, there was (and is again today) a mini-mall with an auto stereo store as it’s hub. The entire center was ablaze. There was a lone LAFD firefighter trying to fight it with a garden hose — while most remember how many in the LAPD basically threw up their hands at the rioters in a dereliction of duty,  fewer recall the undermanned LAFD trying valiantly to fight hundreds of fires. I could feel the heat from the blaze through my car window. I turned and headed south on Hoover as fast as I could, reaching the light at Adams to find the Pizza Hut on the corner had turned to a pile of smoldering ashes. I turned left and, less than a block later, reached my apartment, parking my car underground and taking the elevator to my place. I crashed on my bed and didn’t wake up for five hours.

When I arose and flipped on the TV, I saw that looting had — for the most part — taken the place of violence. The rioters had simply added a step to their previous activities: they were now taking everything they could out of these stores before setting them on fire. Still, around my apartment, things were quiet. There was no traffic on the streets, and almost no people to be found anywhere. I was starving and made, in retrospect, another odd decision: I called USC to find out if any of the dining options on campus were open. I was told by the operator that EVK was open, but that I’d need my USC ID to be allowed on campus. Fine! I need to eat! I mean, sure, less than 24 hours before, I’d watched Reginald Denny get pulled out of a semi by a mob and have his head caved in. But I’d be fine driving a few blocks to USC in my uber-secure Hyundai Excel. (I am only now realizing how silly these choices were, but I hope they make for an entertaining story)

I got to campus (which was basically an armed fortress at that point, with most driveway gates closed and USC’s security team — known on campus as DPS — on patrol at each walking entrance) and to EVK, parking at a meter right outside. If you went to USC in the early 1990s, you know just how rare that opportunity was! As I walked into the dining hall, I turned and saw what I now recall as an almost cartoonish scene, reminiscent of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon, where he’s playing baseball against the Giants, who are hitting him so hard that they’re basically going around the bases in a conga line, one after another. Well, what looked like a conga line of parents in BMWs and Mercedeses were lined up outside of the entrance to the dorm, as one by one, girls would come running out of the front door with bags, throw them into the car, dive in and speed away.

After eating, I finally decided I might want to hit the road back to the safer confines of Claremont, myself. Heading up Hoover back to the freeway, that ashen former Pizza Hut was now at the center of a looting maelstrom. The minimall surrounding the Pizza Hut was home to a Payless Shoe Source and other small businesses. Dozens of people were running in and out of Payless, carting boxes of (free) $11 shoes with them. As I headed north on Hoover past the light at Adams, there was a family of four walking across the street, each member carrying at least three boxes, with the father (I can only assume) having at least four boxes stacked on each shoulder. Apparently, in whatever world they were living in at that moment, I was supposed to stop for them as they jaywalked their children who were learning how to steal things. They were stunned as I sped past them, forcing them to stop quickly — and even to drop a couple boxes of shoes in the middle of Hoover. But there was no way in hell — despite my previous choices — that I was stopping before I was on that freeway and headed out of town.

By Friday, the newspaper's coverage had caught up with the news.

Once I got up on the 10, I saw a stunning scene on a brilliantly sunny Thursday: plumes of smoke from burning buildings in every direction. It looked like what I imagined a war zone would look like. 40 minutes later, I was back in Claremont, safely watching on television as the city unraveled even further. My main concern at that point was that my girlfriend’s family — who lived on the edges of Hancock Park, near Koreatown — was safe, and that the USC campus would remain unharmed.

***

My girlfriend and I returned to Los Angeles on Sunday to check in on her mother and step-father. We exited the 101 at Vermont and dropped down to 3rd Street, heading west. The destruction along that stretch between Vermont and Western was indescribable. I remember being so embarrassed for L.A., a city I love, that is my home. Those days of violence and lawlessness made it so easy for those media outlets across America that like to find things to hate about my city to mock it, flog it, run it down. And, in this case, with how broken the city clearly was (no matter who was to blame), there was no way to argue against it.

One light shining in the darkness was the fact that not only was USC’s campus unharmed, but that many of those who lived in the community around it rallied to make sure it went unharmed. USC’s investment in its local community —  both financially and emotionally — is well known among those affiliated with the school. But to see the respect it engendered in this worst of times was rewarding. And to see the community and the school continuing and expanding that relationship two decades into the future is even more enjoyable. While those not affiliated with USC find it easy to mock the school’s location — often in lazy, ill-informed, racially-coded language — those of us who are Trojans or have some connection with the university understand how close-knit the relationship between the university and the community is.

Twenty years on, the L.A. Riots remain a defining moment in my life and in the lives of many Angelenos. While our city is, by no means, perfect, I like to believe it’s improved in the years since. And, while it would be dimwitted to say something like this could never happen again, you hope that we’re better equipped to handle the types of flashpoints that could cause another bout of civil unrest.

Rodney King's famous plea made the cover of the next week's Time.

If you’re interested in reading more takes on the anniversary of the riots, here are some links to a few of the better stories I’ve read this week:

Christopher Wallace in The Atlantic

Hector Tobar on George Ramos and East L.A. (This one hit home when I read it yesterday. Ramos was my news reporting teacher in spring 1992, one of the best teachers I had at USC. If you had Ramos in J-school at USC, you know how much he hated bullshit and loved L.A. You also know that you covered a community beat during your semester with him. I’m still very proud to say that he told me late that semester that he assigned me to Compton because he thought I was up to the challenge.)

Patt Morrison in the L.A. Times

Photographer Kirk McCoy’s “then-and-now” photo essay in the L.A. Times

Two Gang Members Recall the Riots, as part of the Daily Beast’s excellent set of coverage.

Mar 03

A Smattering of Unrelated Mini-Rants

For all the media’s predictable hype, at 11:30 p.m. on Friday, March 2, the Lakers (who, if you are to believe the tenor of the local media since the NBA blew up the Chris Paul trade in December, are old, poorly coached, boring and barely hanging on to relevance) and the Clippers (who, if you believe the tenor of the local media since the NBA allowed their clearly inferior deal for the same Paul to go through, are young, hip, exciting and a clearly elite threat to win the NBA title) are in a virtual tie for first place in the Pacific Division more than halfway through the season. This is proof of one of two (or maybe both) things: the canyon between these two franchises was so incredibly vast prior to December 2011 that the Clippers having an almost identical record to the Lakers (and a 1-1 split in the season series to this point) is reason enough for Clipper-based orgasms of BS; or that the sports media, both locally and nationally, are more prone to bogus hype than the bastard child of TMZ.com and the National Enquirer
CP3 as a Laker

"Basketball reasons."

Speaking of sports hype: Jeremy Lin. Nice story. Impressive run. Plenty of intrigue to it, from the Harvard angle, to the Asian-American angle, to the out-of-the-blue angle. Fortunate to be in the center of a New York media maelstrom that glorifies the Knicks as if their history is comparable to the the Lakers or Celtics, rather than that of the Rockets or Pistons. Here’s hoping the kid keeps it up and becomes a long-term NBA star, rather than simply another reason for ESPN to run more Tim Tebow stories …

Hey, Rush Limbaugh: Way to steal the spotlight from Andrew Breitbart. For once, thanks, big guy …

New Springsteen: Big thumbs up. April 27 can’t come soon enough …

The First Amendment is just as much about the freedom from religion as it is the freedom of religion. Read it. In essence, the idea is no law should restrict a person’s ability to practice his or her religion, but at the same time, no law should be based on the beliefs of a specific religion. Make of this what you will …

“The Artist” as Best Picture at the Oscars seemed foregone for a while now. Excellent film. But, as an L.A. guy, I still think it’s victory was a West Coast example of the N.Y./D.C. East Coast navelgazing media winning out. Hollywood’s a company town. I found “The Descendants” a much more relevant film for our time …

RE: the UCLA basketball story in Sports Illustrated. Of course, as an SC guy, I get some mild amusement from it. But, really, what’s going on there that isn’t going on with a ton of other college students or not-very-successful athletic teams? Kids in college going to a rave? Getting high? Showing up somewhere hung over? Struggling teams featuring bad seeds? Dissension? Poor coaching and leadership? None of this is really massive news, is it? To give UCLA due credit, the reason SI makes this a story is because UCLA has the greatest winning tradition in college basketball. So, in the end, I find this story a different kind of hype than the ones above … but hype nonetheless …

Oregon Recruiting Issues

You'd be smiling too.

RE: the recent Oregon/NCAA news (which was expertly dumped late on a Friday; good work Oregon athletic department taking cues from the U.S. government’s way of keeping bad news quiet by releasing it when the pundits are well into a weekend-beginning Happy Hour): Here are two links that fit my thoughts as an observer of the NCAA’s growing impotence (at best) or crookedness (at worst) and where my amusement comes in as a USC fan.

Finally, I just spent a week at an industry conference in Miami. Thoughts:

  • Our people still know how to use their expense accounts to treat each other to amazing meals and drinks at incredible bars, lounges and clubs. I’ll never rant about that; it’s the way business gets done AND it’s a helluva perk …
  • That said, those hefty expense accounts are one of many things that seem to give a level of self-importance to people with no real right to it. Just be you, and I’ll be me, and if it makes sense for us to work together, let’s do it …
  • DR is an industry of optimists. If a product deserves a chance to work, the people in this business really will give it a fair shot …
  • I’m always amazed by the ability of four people around a table discussing direct response advertising (myself included) to make said conversation appear to outsiders as important as a discussion between world leaders on nuclear disarmament. I’m telling you, we’ve all got that “interested/concerned/piqued/amused” rotation of faces down pat …
  • I don’t think I’ve ever spent five days in a hotel at a networking show and never once seen a single employee of the organization hosting that event … until this week (that’s especially surprising when the organization has something along the lines of two-dozen staffers). As someone who co-founded and co-hosts an industry event that draws 3,000 people, it seems that it’s kind of hard to know what your constituents want or need from the event if your staff is locked up in board rooms or “working” an essentially non-existent “show floor” while the massive bulk of your attendees are doing business across the many bars, restaurants and public spaces at the fantastic property you’ve booked. For me, understanding the full experience of everyone at the event is always crucial to improving it the next time around. That’s why I always spend time on the floor, in the conference rooms, with our sponsors, around the hotel’s bars and restaurants, and at the parties that other companies throw in conjunction with our event …
  • Smartphones are great. I love my iPhone. But they’ve become the bane of the scheduled meeting at events like this. “Hold on, I need to take this call,” is rarely a sufficient excuse to put a 10-minute hold on the one face-to-face meeting we’re likely to have in the next 3-5 months …
  • “I have a hard stop.” Yea, I have a meeting at 2:30, also. But I don’t need to use a dumb corporatized catch-phrase to tell you that (and make you feel like this meeting doesn’t remotely compare to your 2:30) …

With that, this blogging effort has reached a hard stop … for bed.